Abstract:

Multi-modal surveys with a smartphone option are quickly becoming a necessity for proprietary consumer-facing panels. Mobile presents the opportunity to reach and engage more and better panelists, and the web underpinnings of smartphones allow the addition of mobile to web-based data collection with little incremental cost. The challenge, as with all new data collection techniques, is for researchers to understand and account for the tradeoffs and fundamental differences between the web option and the burgeoning mobile option in delivering accurate results and optimizing the investment in panels.